


In Every Season

by lilacsigil



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-08 23:51:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12875691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacsigil/pseuds/lilacsigil
Summary: The cosy community of Stardew Valley has been home to Maru and Penny their whole lives, but now that they're starting a relationship, everyone is finding change more difficult than expected.





	In Every Season

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Estirose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/gifts).



> Thanks to egelantier and SA for the beta.

Maru strolled down from home to meet up with Penny. The summer afternoon was sun-drenched and, with the heat of the day fading, beautiful. Penny was sitting on their usual bench – close enough to the beach to hear the ocean, far enough from the beach to avoid smelling Willy's fishing shack – but this time her shoulders were slumped, her posture dejected. 

"Hey, Penny!" Maru called out before she sat down beside her, not wanting to startle her when it looked like she was lost in her own world.

"Oh, hi. Here's that book I said I'd bring."

" _The Robot Parrot's Final Escape_ , thanks so much! I got Sebastian to order it for me but it never showed up." She made a face. "I don't know if he actually ordered it or not, but he said he did…"

"He doesn't usually lie to you. He just gets grumpy," Penny said, consolingly. "It's your dad he's got a problem with, not actually you."

Maru rolled her eyes. "I know. And my dad doesn't help, with all his rules."

The farmer, Eve, walked past on her way to the beach and both girls waved at her, though Penny flushed bright red. 

"What's going on?" Maru asked, as soon as Eve was out of hearing. "I thought you two were seeing a fair bit of each other, why are you blushing now?"

"Ugh!" Penny threw up her hands. "We were, and now my mom has wrecked everything. Eve was being so kind, helping me tidy the trailer, and Mom came in and pitched a fit. It was my fault, I know I shouldn't have let someone else see how bad it was…"

"Hey, it's not your fault. You clean that place constantly. It's your mom that should be ashamed, not you."

"She is ashamed, that's the problem. And now she's over at the tavern again, and she'll only get worse. Everyone knows what she's like, I don't see why she had to yell at me and Eve about it!"

Maru took a deep breath. "Why don't you come and stay with me tonight? I've still got my old rollaway bed, and I'm sure you haven't read all my books. It'll give your mom some time to settle down and you won't have to worry."

Penny's face lit up. "Really? You don't mind? I can sneak back home and get some things if I go now – Mom will still be at the saloon for least another hour before Gus cuts her off."

"Yeah, really! It'll be fun! Let's go!" 

The two girls jumped up and hurried past the mayor's grand house to Penny's shabby trailer on the riverbank. Penny paused as they stopped outside, and Maru stepped back. 

"I'll just wait here. Keeping a lookout."

"Thanks," Penny said.

A few minutes later, with no Pam in sight, Penny hurried back out carrying a small cardboard box from Amazuzu, the big book retailer in Zuzu City. It made sense that that's where she kept her things – Maru doubted Pam would want Penny to own anything like a suitcase in case she got ideas. 

"Okay! All ready!"

They went around the back of the general store to avoid the tavern, and past the handsomely restored Community Centre. 

"Have you checked out the library in there?" Penny asked. "I mean, it's mostly kids' books, but there were a few I'd never even heard of. I mean, _Night on Junimo Mountain_? Have you ever heard of that?"

"Nope!" 

"It was this weird old travelogue from a rich lady who liked to travel everywhere with only her loyal horse for company, then she'd go home and write books about where she went. But this time, she discovered a mountain that wasn't even on the map. The only people who knew about it were villagers from a backwards little hamlet in a remote valley, Stardew Valley…"

"Oh, we're backwards now?" Maru laughed. It was nice to see Penny looking more animated, though.

"Yes, there were only two families here. Mayor Lewis's ancestors and Eve's grandfather, I guess, or maybe even his grandfather. So, they told the lady not to go up the mountain because it was the habitat of the Junimos."

Maru had heard of them. "Like the ones in that kids' story where they picked the Good Farmer's crops?"

"Yes, those ones! Anyway, the lady didn't care about warnings, so she went on up the mountain to camp for the night, and her horse didn't seem bothered, so she thought the villagers were being superstitious peasants."

"She does sound charming!" They were walking up the hill to Maru's house, now.

"Don't worry, she's like that about everyone. So then she goes to sleep by her campfire, and has a vivid dream where she is surrounded by little multi-coloured wobbly candies singing her songs. And when she woke up…"

"What? Don't stop there!"

Penny lowered her voice. "She had been carried back to the village, complete with her horse, and every single strand of hair on her body and on her horse had a knot tied in it!"

"No way!" 

"But the interesting thing," Penny said, as they approached Maru's house, "Is that I looked at the map and her campsite on the famous Junimo Mountain would be…right…about…here!"

She tugged a lock of Maru's hair and Maru shrieked before collapsing into laughter. 

"Penny, that was terrible!"

Demetrius stuck his head out the door. "You okay there, Maru? I heard you call out."

"Sorry, sir, I played a joke on her." Penny immediately apologised and Maru glared at her dad for ruining the moment. 

"I'm fine, Dad, seriously! Penny is staying over tonight, all right?"

"Oh, that's fine, you girls go on. Does Robin know?" Demetrius asked.

"No, but weren't you making mushroom stew for dinner? There'll be plenty for everyone."

"There certainly will! Come on in, Penny," he said, holding the door open. 

"Thank you." Penny's voice was small again, and Maru made sure to give her dad an extra harsh glare, which he shrugged off. 

Maru hadn't realised quite how much junk she'd left lying on her bedroom floor until she watched Penny try to pick her way through it. 

"Uh, sorry, Penny. I don't have visitors very often. Hang on a second and I'll tidy it up."

"Can I help?"

"Oh, no, I've got to sort it. But if you pull out the two big crates from over there, it won't take me long."

The two crates were labelled "Robot" and "Not Robot", which made Penny giggle, to Maru's relief. She knew that her dad was just worried about her, but he didn't need to be that overbearing. 

It didn't take long to clean up, and Penny could help once she had an idea about which pieces were definitely not "Robot". Now Penny was curled up on the rollaway bed with a book of Maru's that she hadn't read in a while. _Gem Sea Island_ was not exactly what Maru would call pleasant reading, since it was an old adventure story that had way too much detail about rigging and weather patterns before anything actually happened, but Penny seemed to be enjoying it. Maru, meanwhile, was chatting with her robotics group online. 

Demetrius opened the door. "Girls! Time for dinner!" 

"Dad! How many times have I told you to knock?"

"Oh, sorry, honey. Go wash your hands, girls." He retreated back up the passageway to the kitchen. 

"Lucky we weren't making out or something," Maru muttered. 

"Um, do you think we? Um." Penny sounded completely baffled, staring at Maru with huge eyes.

"I don't know! I mean, I like you, but I was just…anyway, he shouldn't barge in like that."

Maru leapt up, her cheeks burning, and dashed for the bathroom to wash her hands. Penny followed at a safe distance. 

Sebastian wasn't at dinner, which was no surprise to Maru, but her mom was. She gave Penny a hug. 

"Lovely to see you, Penny! Do you still have that log cabin diorama I helped you build?"

"Um, no, sorry, Robin," Penny muttered. 

"Ha ha, of course not, that was years ago." Robin shook her head. "You kids grow up so fast! Here, Penny – Sebastian's off with Sam, so you take his seat, next to me."

Maru could see Penny was relaxing again, which was great. Maru was such an emotional klutz! Here she was trying to help Penny and instead making things worse for her. She hoped Penny would feel safe sleeping in Maru's room and not be worried that Maru was about to pressure her into anything. 

"Maru, could you pass me the bread?" her dad said, and then they settled down to regular dinner conversation and rich mushroom stew over thick chunks of bread. For dessert they had some peaches that Eve the farmer had kindly given Robin. They tasted like summer was meant to taste, sweet and warm, without the odour of slightly over-heated electronics and armpit sweat that Maru associated with actual summer. 

They went back to Maru's room after dinner and Penny was as nervous as before. 

As soon as she closed the door, Maru apologised. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Penny. I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to feel like I lured you up here or something. I would never make a move without asking you first."

Penny was blushing as brightly as the red diodes on Maru's robot. "Um. Actually. I really like you, Maru, and if you did want to, um, kiss me, I would like that."

"Oh!" Maru didn't waste a second, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Penny, and kissing her, gently but warmly, on the lips. Penny made a soft noise and opened her mouth, pushing her hands into Maru's hair and knocking her glasses askew. 

"Sorry!" Penny gasped, but Maru simply dropped her glasses on the rollaway bed and kept kissing Penny. They sank down onto Maru's bed, side by side, and kept kissing, Penny sliding her hand along Maru's side under her overalls, rucking up her t-shirt. Maru stroked Penny's back and the side of her face, where she was still blushing. 

The door flew open. "Just popping in to – aargh!" 

"Dad!" Maru shouted, sitting up so quickly that she clunked her head against Penny's. Penny didn't say anything, but her mouth opened and closed with a horrified gasp. 

"Maru! Are you all right?" Demetrius took a step closer, but Maru held her hand up. 

"Stop it! We were fine until you burst in, like I already told you not to do! Do I have to make a lock for this door?"

"Honey, I worry about you," Demetrius started, only to have Robin storm in behind him and haul him out by the arms. 

"Come on, dear, it's time for bed." She pushed him through the doorway. "Sorry, Maru. I'm going to have a few words with him. Right now. Well, good night, Penny!" She shut the door firmly and stomped off down the hall with her protesting husband.

"I am so, so sorry," Maru told Penny, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead. "I hope that doesn't bruise."

"I'm okay! Just, maybe next time we should put the Robot crate in front of the door? Unless you'll get in trouble?"

Maru sighed. "My dad never gets me into real trouble for anything, ever, probably because he assumes I'm about five years old."

"That sounds nice."

"Yeah, in a way, I guess, but also he treats me like a five-year-old. Sure, I can help him with his research, but I can't shut my bedroom door?"

"I would never bring someone home," Penny said, quietly. "That whole dinner, no-one yelled at anyone."

"That's why it's even more important that we can come here," Maru declared. "I mean, I'm sorry you can't bring someone home. Here I am trying to solve all your problems. See a nail, bam, hit it with a hammer."

Penny was giggling now. "Don't hit me with a hammer, please. My head is sore enough. Do you think your dad will come in again?"

"Not after Mom's done with him, at least not today. Hey, do you want to sleep in my bed? That would be nice."

"Um, I don't know, I'm kind of worried about your dad. I'll get changed, then maybe read for a bit?"

"Of course," Maru told her, silently cursing her dad. She picked up her glasses and got things organised for Penny. Maybe it was a good thing that Penny could see that she could trust Maru to listen when she said no? She tried to keep telling herself that, but all she really wanted to do was go back to making out with Penny and kissing her until she blushed again. 

In the morning, it was Robin who knocked on the door and called, "Breakfast's on, girls!"

Maru had been drowsily awake anyway, watching Penny sleep in the early morning light, and called out, "Thanks, Mom!"

Penny blinked awake. "Oh, Maru, hi!" 

"Hey, Penny. I've got work at the clinic today if you want to walk down with me."

Penny smiled, slightly blurry because Maru didn't have her glasses on yet. "Sure, I'd like that."

Demetrius was quiet at breakfast, but Sebastian was there, having stayed up all night for one of his MMO raids, and he gave Maru a secret thumbs up when their dad wasn't looking. Maru didn't know whether it was meant as encouragement to her or discouragement to her dad, but she'd take it anyway. 

To Maru's surprise, it was Penny who kissed her on the cheek, near the corner of her mouth, as soon as they were out of sight of Maru's home. 

"Oh! I thought you might not want to, after last night."

Penny giggled. "I'm used to getting up to things out of sight of parents."

"Why, Penny, I thought you were such a good girl!"

"Not when it counts," Penny replied, and kissed Maru again. It took them almost an hour to walk down past the community centre into Pelican Town, and Maru was late for work. Not that Harvey would notice – it wasn't like they had a lot of patients waiting to see him.

The clinic was quiet until lunchtime, their only patient little Jas, brought in by her aunt for a grazed knee from a skipping accident. She needed reassurance more than medical care, so Maru chatted to her while Harvey cleaned and dressed the injury. Harvey was a good doctor, but he wasn't always the most comforting person. Maru kept a stash of lollipops that she had sworn to Harvey were sugar-free for just such an occasion. 

Not long after noon, Pam burst through the doors, her eyes bloodshot and her clothes rumpled from sleeping in them. Maru's first instinct was to look at the calendar, but it wasn't time for Pam's yearly check-up and argument with Harvey. 

"Can I help you?" she asked Pam in some confusion. 

"Penny wasn't there when I got home," Pam said, pointing a finger at Maru. "And now she's shown up with a bruise."

"Oh! I'm sorry, that was an accident. We bumped heads. I have a little bruise, too." Maru was talking too fast, worried that Pam would take out her anger on Penny. She hadn't thought that she might take out her anger on Maru. 

Pam reached across the counter and grabbed Maru by her white uniform shirt. "That's not good enough." She poked Maru on the bruise with a sharp-nailed finger. "I don't care if you're hurt, I care if Penny is."

Harvey wandered out from the consulting room. "Pam! What are you doing?"

Letting go immediately, Pam retreated. "I was just talking to Maru, here, nothing to worry about." 

Harvey wasn't an idiot, and he didn't leave. "Are you all right, Maru?"

"I'm fine," she said, flatly, not taking her eyes off Pam. 

Pam leaned across the counter again, and hissed, "Penny's all I've got. You better be good to her." She turned on her heel and stormed out, slightly wobbly. 

"Wow!" Harvey stepped forward. "Are you actually all right? Pam's not usually that aggressive."

Maru smoothed out her uniform. "Penny stayed at my place last night and now everyone's in a flap."

"Oh, I see. Your dad, too? Sometimes I'm glad I don't live near my family."

Maru laughed. She was surprised that Harvey understood, as usually anything emotional just made him retreat for his upstairs apartment. Still, there must be a reason why he had come to Stardew Valley rather than stay in the city. 

"It's cool. I knew what I was getting into with Pam, even if I was a bit surprised by my dad. I shouldn't be, though. When I made friends with Eve from the farm he tried to warn her off!"

"Have you ever thought of moving out?" Harvey asked.

"Well, I'd have to get Mom to build me a house, for starters! It's not like there's any empty houses in Stardew Valley. And I couldn't move in with Penny."

"I know you're studying online, so why not go to college?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I've been to Zuzu City a couple of times, and it was pretty overwhelming. Penny's never even left the valley. I guess I'm a country girl at heart. And I can't imagine a landlord will put up with my exploding robots for too long! But I will keep it in mind, I promise."

"That's good. I can't offer you a place to stay, but if it's ever an emergency, well, you have a key to the clinic, and there's some extremely uncomfortable beds here if you need them."

Maru threw her arms around Harvey, much to his surprise. "Thank you so much! I hope it won't come to that: my dad is over-protective, not mean. But it's good to know you'd help."

"Sure, uh, of course," Harvey blushed. 

Maru had a few things to do after the clinic closed, and ended up going home just before five. It was her turn to cook dinner and she wasn't sure if she would have time to make pepper poppers now. Maybe just the baked fish would be enough, with some fresh strawberries for dessert. She pondered her menu all the way up the hill to home, waving to Caroline from the store who was meditating under the tree near the community centre. She was so wrapped up pondering whether to use the pepper popper crumb coat for the baked fish that she almost ran into her dad, who was standing in the doorway. 

"Oh! Dad! Sorry, I didn't even see you."

"Hi, Maru. How was work?"

"Slow, as usual. But I got the date checks on the dressings finished, so that's something." Maru wasn't sure what she should say. 

"You're always very organised. Maru…I just wanted to talk to you about Penny."

"Sure!" Maru was surprised that he wanted to rehash what had happened – he usually preferred to pretend that nothing had gone wrong. Mom must have prompted him to apologise. 

"I don't want Penny staying over in your room."

"That's okay – wait, what?" 

He sighed. "I know Penny is in a tough situation at home, and I'm not saying she can't sleep over, but not in your room. I'll move the rollaway bed into the lab."

"Dad, you're being ridiculous. You've never stopped me having friends over before."

"You've never been kissing them in your bedroom before!"

Maru fumed. "You mean, you've never caught me kissing them in my bedroom before!" She took a deep breath. "Well, if you don't want me to kiss Penny in my room, I won't. But I'm not making her sleep in the lab. It will creep her out."

"I'm sorry, Maru, but I'm putting my foot down."

"Oh yeah? And what's Mom got to say about this?"

"I didn't want to have Penny here at all; Robin's the one who suggested the lab compromise."

"Since you obviously don't trust me!" Maru shoved past him and went straight to her room, slamming the door. She had never been so mad at him in her life, not even when she was a kid and he used to keep her on a toddler leash to keep her from exploring the lake like she wanted. 

She changed out of her work uniform and stomped around her room kicking the sturdier robot parts until she felt better. Maru had never been able to stay angry for long, even when she tried. If Penny stayed over, she could have Maru's room – Maru had fallen asleep in the lab plenty of times as a kid, and even recently while working on fiddlehead fern samples for her dad, and it wouldn't bother her at all. She swept out of her room, trying to aim for haughty dignity, and went to the kitchen to cook dinner. It was her turn and she refused to let her dad bother her.

To her surprise, Sebastian was in the kitchen, breading up peppers. Largemouth bass were marinating in a dish by the sink.

"What?" he said, in reply to her stare.

"Uh, thanks. For starting on dinner."

"No problem. I thought you might be upset after Demetrius yelled at you. I mean, you're not used to it like I am."

Maru opened her mouth to defend her dad, out of habit, but then closed it again. "I guess not. Hey, is that why you never bring anyone here?"

"Yeah, basically. Also, most of the people I like don't live in the valley, so it's all online anyway."

"Penny doesn’t even have a computer. Or a phone."

"Oh, well. You'll have to send coded messages in books or something."

Maru giggled. "That sounds like the kind of plan Penny would like. I'll rot13 something after dinner, maybe. Start simple."

"Not simple enough. Just go see her."

"I always make it home by nine or so…actually, why I am trying to be good? I'm only getting in more trouble for it. You're right, I'll go see her."

"That's the rebel spirit!" Sebastian fist-bumped her, getting breadcrumbs all over her hand.

"Ugh, now I have to help you with dinner."

Dinner was tense, as Maru's parents had obviously been arguing and were determined not to show it, and Sebastian was no help, of course. Maru was glad to get out of there with the excuse of setting up her telescope. The sunny day was slowly giving way to a clear night and it would be perfect for stargazing. As soon as she got back from seeing Penny, that is. 

The sun set, and Maru hesitated, then remembered what Sebastian said about rebel spirit and simply walked down towards the town. Nobody called out or tried to stop her, and her stride got more and more confident as she strolled down past the community centre and into town. Her heart did beat a little faster than normal, but now that was excitement at seeing Penny, not the fear of getting caught. 

Willy was walking out of the saloon, so Maru stopped him. 

"Excuse me, was Pam in the saloon tonight?"

"Miss, she's not only in there, she's had more drinks than I've had fish dinners, and that's saying something. Now, I'd better be off, fishing means an early start." 

"Thank you!" Maru crept past the back of the mayor's house towards Penny's trailer. The light was still on, so she tapped on Penny's window. 

"Penny!" she whispered, hopefully not too quietly. "It's Maru!"

She heard a startled rustling inside, then the thin curtain was pulled aside and Penny was at the window. "Maru! What are you doing here? Come in, but you can't stay long." She dropped the curtain again and went over to open the door. "You never go out so late!"

Maru came inside and kissed Penny, just on the cheek. "Maybe I'm feeling different these days?"

Penny blushed, but kissed Maru back, this time on the lips. "Me too, but you still can't stay. Mom will be back soon, and I can't exactly hide you in here."

"I thought you might like to come up sometime and go stargazing with me. It's a beautiful night, but there'll be plenty more."

Penny shook her head. She was a lot tenser here than she had been at Maru's house, her shoulders up high. "I can't tonight, okay. My mom will flip. I already heard that she yelled at you. Harvey came and checked on me, which was nice of him, but I'm fine. Mom has never laid a hand on me."

"That doesn't equal fine," Maru pointed out. "But my dad is throwing a fit, too. He said you can stay, but we have to sleep in separate rooms."

"I don't want to share with Sebastian! His room smells like a troll cave!" Penny giggled, then covered her mouth, even though Maru laughed too. "No, seriously, Maru, you have to go. I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

"No problem," Maru agreed, not wanting to make her more upset, but they kissed again before she carefully peered out the door for any sign of Pam. There was none, so she quickly kissed Penny again and slipped away into the dark. 

She did spend a little time at the telescope – it was so lovely and clear – before going inside to find her mother sitting on her bed, whittling a chunk of wood with her pocketknife. 

"Mom? Why are you in here?" 

"Oh, I felt like a bit of midnight whittling and didn't want to get wood shavings in my bed."

"Mom!" Maru felt like a whiny teenager, and that wasn't the impression she was trying to give these days. "Is this about what Dad was saying."

Robin folded up the knife. "It is indeed. I'm kind of disappointed in him, to be honest, but this is the best compromise we've come to. Sebastian never wants to bring anyone home, so it hasn't really come up with him, but I want you to know that I support you and Penny's a lovely girl."

Maru sat down beside her. "Will you build us a house, then?"

"If you get married, sure! Consider it a wedding present. But until then, will you consider some compromise? This is a family of four and it's hard to keep everyone in balance, sometimes."

"I get it, Mom. And I know Pam is trying to protect her daughter, but she's so aggressive about it that Penny is scared of her. And it feels like Dad won't make a safe place for Penny, either. I mean, I want her to feel at home, you know? Not have to retreat all the time."

"You're a good person, Maru, and I can see you care about Penny a lot. Keep bringing her here and your dad will see the same thing too, I'm sure."

"I'm not so sure," Maru said with a grimace, and hugged her mom like she was a little girl again, the familiar scent of fresh pine shavings everywhere. 

Despite getting to be so late, Maru got up early in the morning, full of energy and unable to sleep any longer. The day was clear, even if rain was forecast for tomorrow, and she didn't have work today. Definitely the right day to meet up with Penny. She put some text into a rot13 website, then she wrote down the altered text on some nice writing paper with snow crocuses on it that her parents had given her as a birthday present a few years ago. She still had most of it left: it wasn't like she wrote letters to people, apart from her grandma who had retired to the Fern Islands. 

She grabbed some leftover rice for breakfast and set out early, before anyone else was about. After Willy's report on how much Pam was drinking, Maru thought it was pretty unlikely she'd be awake yet, so she crept up to the trailer, reached up to slide the piece of paper through the loose frame of Penny's window, tapped on the window, then ran away as fast as she could. As she dashed through town, she saw Eve, the farmer, walking along in her usual brisk way. 

"Hi, Maru! How're you doing?"

"Oh, pretty good," Maru said automatically, then frowned. "Actually, it's more of a mix between really good and really bad."

"What do you mean?"

"I've started dating Penny and it's awesome, but both our parents are totally against it, so we can't meet up at her place or my place. And I want her to be welcome somewhere, you know?"

"Wow, that sucks. It's been ages since I lived with my parents, so I guess I forget what it's like." Eve nodded sympathetically. 

"But you get what I mean. I feel like we're sneaking around the whole time, and Penny deserves better than that." 

Eve agreed. "She's always talked about wanting to move out of that trailer. It's hard not to have your own space when you're an adult."

"Yeah! I mean, my parents are in charge of where I live, but at least I've got that big room and space for my telescope, you know? Apart from my dad flipping out about Penny, I've got it pretty good. And it's the same for Sebastian – he's got a couple of jobs. He could move out if he wanted to, but I guess he doesn't."

"Sorry, I don't know him so well. He's always in his room!" 

Maru laughed. "Catch him by the lake in the evening. He goes there to smoke so Mom can pretend she doesn't know."

"Thanks, Maru! I'm trying to get to know everyone here, but he's not making it easy."

"That's how he likes it," Maru shrugged. "Anyway, thanks for listening. You're a good friend."

"No problems!" Eve waved and walked off towards the General Store. 

Feeling more cheerful, Maru went back up to the mountain lake herself. It was always refreshingly cool there. Around noon, hoping that Penny had translated her message, Maru briefly went home to pack a few things in a picnic basket – Mom was in the shop and Dad was off somewhere collecting botanical data – then headed back to the lake, walking across the makeshift bridges to the little island in the middle. There was supposed to be good fishing here, but Maru was too squeamish to use bait. She'd made a robot fish attractor once, but it was too effective and she'd ended up swamped in carp. And no-one wanted to eat Carp Surprise every meal for a week straight. Not again. 

At one o'clock, right on schedule, Penny appeared on the path that led up from town. She looked a bit anxious, but as soon as she saw Maru she smiled and waved, then hurried across the bridges to the island. 

"I got your message! The paper was so pretty! I love flowers!" She hugged Maru hard, then kissed her. They made out for a while, leaning against the tree in the middle of the tiny island, the cool breeze of the lake flowing over them. 

After a while, though she wasn't sure actually how long it had been, so caught up in Penny, Maru's stomach was beginning to grumble. "Hey, you want to have some lunch? I brought a picnic!"

"Oh, wow, you're prepared for everything! I'd love to."

Maru blushed as she got everything out, hoping Penny didn't see in the shade of the tree. "I wanted you to have somewhere safe to go. Somewhere for us, where people can't tell us not to go."

"That's so sweet of you! I wish we could build a tiny cabin right here and stay here forever. Though to be honest, we'd probably have fish jumping through the kitchen…"

"Perfect for dinner!" Maru laughed, and finished setting out their picnic. She'd made maki rolls with the cold leftover rice, and a red plate salad of red cabbage and radish because she was pretty sure Penny liked that. Some of last night's pepper poppers, which were almost as good cold, finished off the main course, and she had sliced up a fresh melon for dessert. 

"This is so great, Maru! I mean, I try and try to cook, and you've just thrown all of this together. Maybe I need to relax a little."

"Fresh ingredients work the best," Maru agreed, "Then you're not trying to imagine all the things in the world you can cook, only what you've got in front of you."

"You're right! I mean, red plate is one of my favourites, but I've only ever had it from the Saloon, oh, and Eve gave me some once. I never considered assembling things as cooking, but it's so tasty."

Maru laughed and fed her a small piece of radish. "To be honest, it's a lot easier in summer, but I'll take the credit if you want!"

As dusk fell and the fireflies started to appear, they lay on their backs on the soft grass, still holding hands, and Maru pointed out constellations to Penny. 

"So that's the Farmer, right above the Jellyfish and the Snow Rabbit…" 

"I keep reading about them in books, and all the symbolism, but I'd never looked at the shapes in the sky. There's so many stars, but I can start to see them now with you." Penny smiled shyly at Maru, then stared back up at the starry sky. 

"When my dad's cooled off a bit, you should come over and use my telescope. It's amazing how much you can see from the top of the hill, even with a plain old telescope I assembled from a kit."

"I'd love to!" 

As they kissed again, distracted from the stars, someone started yelling. Maru sat up abruptly, worried it might be Pam, even though it sounded nothing like her. Instead, it was an actual Dwarf, a stocky figure in a brown robe, waving frantically at them. 

"Are they all right?" Penny asked, in some confusion, but the Dwarf kept waving and shouting in what sounded like distress, and the two girls got up and hurried across the bridges and past the lake to the tunnel mouth. 

"What's wrong?" Penny asked, but the Dwarf didn't answer, instead running back into the caves towards the elevator. "Uh, Maru, should we go in there? The mines are incredibly dangerous! Slimes and shadow brutes and all kinds of terrible things! Even the bats here want to attack you!"

"I know, I know, but we can stay close to the elevator until we know what's happening. We can get out again quickly."

Penny clung to Maru's arm, but she didn't hesitate any further. They hurried into the elevator with the Dwarf, who hit the button for the 65th floor, and they rocketed down into the dark. The elevator stopped with a loud thump, and the doors slid open. It was absolutely freezing down here, and both Maru and Penny started to shiver. But the cold was nothing compared to the shock of seeing the prone body of Eve lying not three steps away from the elevator, on a bloody patch of ice. 

"Oh no! Eve!" Penny ran to her side. "Maru! Do you know first aid?"

"Yes, of course!" She surveyed the area for slimes, but she couldn't see any. The Dwarf stepped in front of them and drew a large axe from their robes. "Oh, thank you!" Maru told them and hurried over to help Eve while the Dwarf stood guard. 

Eve had a pulse and was still breathing, fortunately, but her injuries were serious and still bleeding freely. Maru stripped off her t-shirt from under her overalls and pressed it against the worst of the wounds, on Eve's chest. The cloth from the picnic basket would do for the chunk of flesh ripped from her thigh. 

"Penny, your hair scarf." 

Penny quickly untied the scarf she used to keep her hair in its neat rolls and, at Maru's direction, pressed it against the wound in Eve's shoulder. There was slime all over Eve's legs, but at least her sturdy boots seemed to have shielded her from being badly injured there. 

Suddenly a huge frost bat came flying towards them, its teeth and claws gleaming in the cold light. Penny screamed and Maru ducked, trying to cover the wounded Eve, but the Dwarf stepped forward and swung their heavy axe, hitting it with the flat and sending it flying. It swooped back again, shrieking, and this time the axe blade found its mark and it dropped to the floor, severed in two. 

"We've got to get Eve out of here," Maru told Penny and the Dwarf. She would rather not move her in case of spinal injury, but she could find no evidence of that and she could hardly leave her here while monsters circled in. 

"Quickly! There's a frost slime right over there!" Penny pointed behind some rocks where one was lurking. 

"Okay, I'll stabilise her spine as much as possible, then we've got to go."

Maru showed her picnic basket to the Dwarf and indicated where to cut. They swung their axe and the handle and base of the basket were quickly removed, so she could repurpose the sides of the basket into a makeshift cervical collar. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. Maru took Eve by the shoulders while Penny got her feet, and they dragged her into the elevator as smoothly as they could manage. The Dwarf swung at the suddenly attacking frost slime, driving it back, then they jumped in too and the elevator shot upwards. 

Back in the cavernous opening of the mine, they laid Eve down carefully.

"I'm going to get Harvey!" Penny told them, and raced off out of the cave and past the lake. Maru couldn't hold all the bandages in place, but she did her best with the worst injuries. The Dwarf didn't seem inclined to actually touch a human, but stood at the cave entrance, looking out for Penny's return. At least, Maru hoped that was what they were doing, rather than guarding against yet more terrifying monsters. 

Eve groaned. 

"Don't worry, Eve, I've got you. Harvey is on the way."

"Backpack…" Eve muttered, the mask of dried blood on her face cracking as she spoke. 

Maru took one hand off the thigh wound to check in Eve's backpack. She had some cave carrots in there, all brown and soggy, so she carefully held Eve's head and let her eat the earthy-flavoured vegetable. She did brighten up a little, either because of the food or because she was waking up anyway, and Maru couldn't help but make a mental note about investigating the healing properties of cave carrots in the future. She'd probably have to pay someone to collect them, though: there was no way she would be back in that cave herself!

Eve lapsed back into unconsciousness, though the bleeding had definitely slowed, and Harvey and Penny arrived swiftly, with a stretcher and a proper neck brace. 

"My goodness!" Harvey exclaimed at the scene, but he quickly checked Eve over with no sign of his usual nervousness. "Eve may need surgery," he said, locking the collar in place. "Maru, help me get her on the stretcher."

Penny held the stretcher steady and the two of them did the lift they'd previously practiced to smoothly transfer Eve to the stretcher. With Penny carrying Eve's things, they walked carefully back down the mountain to the clinic. As they came back into town, Penny started to look nervous. 

"It's nearly eight o'clock! My mom will want to be at the bar by now, she'll kill me for not being home before dark!"

"I think you've got a pretty great excuse!" Maru told her, looking at the large bloodstain on the front of Penny's skirt. 

"I know, but…she's not the most rational when it comes to my well-being. She worries a lot."

Harvey disagreed. "Surely she can't object to you helping save Eve's life!" 

"Oh, she can object to anything. But I'll try – I know she still likes Eve, even though she yelled at her that one time."

Inside the clinic, Penny put Eve's things safely on the bench and kissed Maru, trying not to get more of Eve's blood on her, although it was a lost cause. "Sorry, I've got to go."

"I love you," Maru blurted out. She didn't know if it was the adrenaline that forced her feelings to the surface, but that didn't make it any less true.

Penny, for once, didn't blush, but looked very serious. "I love you, too, Maru. Take good care of Eve." 

She left, and Maru stared after her.

"No mooning!" Harvey called from where he was scrubbing up. "I need you here, Maru. Cut Eve's clothes away from that big wound so we can clean it and see how deep the damage goes." 

"Yes, Doctor," Maru said, and grabbed the shears. It looked like a long night ahead. 

The next morning was pouring rain, and Maru sat by the front desk of the clinic, yawning and drinking coffee. Eve was out of danger, but Harvey was still watching over her in the infirmary until she woke up. Maru was running interference with all the people worried about Eve, from Elliot who had tried to bring a coral bouquet and promptly cut his hand open, to Jodi, who had brought a huge stack of frozen home-made pancakes wrapped up so that Eve could thaw and eat them whenever she wanted. No-one was allowed in to see Eve, of course, but Maru noted down who had visited and what they'd left for when Eve awoke. She thought Eve would appreciate knowing that everyone was worried about her. 

Maru's parents showed up early, though they were here to see Maru rather than Eve. 

"Honey, I'm so glad you're all right!" her dad declared, hugging her. "I can't believe you went into the mines!"

"You were so brave!" her mom added. 

"It was scary, but there was a Dwarf there who helped protect us. Actually, it was the Dwarf who alerted us in the first place."

Robin joined in the hug. "I'm sure Eve will want to know when she wakes up."

"Will she be all right, Maru?" 

"Harvey says she'll be pretty sore for a bit, but she should be fine."

Demetrius hugged Maru tighter. "What a relief! She was very lucky that you were there, of all people. You don't go in the mines regularly, do you?"

Maru laughed. Trust her dad to get the over-protective angle in. "No, Dad. Penny and I were having a picnic by the lake. I didn't go in the mines before and I'm certainly not going now, since I've seen what's there. Oh, and I destroyed the picnic basket for first aid, sorry."

"That's fine, I'll make another one." Robin dismissed it. "How's Penny?"

Maru bit her lip. "I'm still working, so I haven't been able to check yet. As soon as I'm done here, I will."

"Good girl," Robin said, though Demetrius looked less pleased. Still, he had the grace not to say anything this time, and they left a pretty rainbow shell for Eve, though what Eve was supposed to do with it exactly, Maru wasn't sure. Maybe it would cheer her up. 

Soon, Maru heard Eve's voice, talking to Harvey, though she diligently didn't eavesdrop. It was a relief to hear that she was fine, after yesterday. 

Harvey looked around the door frame. "Maru, Eve would like to see you."

"Oh! Sure!"

Maru hurried in. Eve looked very wan, but vastly better than she had been. 

"Maru, I want to thank you and Penny for rescuing me."

"You're welcome! Did Harvey tell you how much that Dwarf helped?"

"Yes – actually I speak Dwarven and we're good friends. I'll hike up to the mine later to say thank you."

"That's great! But you're not going to go mining again, are you?"

Eve laughed ruefully. "No, I might leave that for a little while. I've got plenty to do on the farm anyway. So, I was wondering if you and Penny would like to come over for dinner this evening? I want to cook you something to show my appreciation."

"Oh! Thank you, I'd love to, but won't you be too tired?"

Eve patted her belly, though she winced a little. "You know I always stay busy and I'm in no shape to go mining or chopping wood today. Cooking's a nice low energy task, and once I've got a good meal in me I'll feel a lot better myself."

"Then I accept!"

Harvey hovered, encouraging Eve to stay longer, but she had to get back to the farm and feed the animals: on a rainy day like this they wouldn't want to go outside to graze. With their only patient gone, Harvey let Maru go home, too, even though she would have been working today, if not for the whole mines incident. Since Maru's clothes were a complete write-off, she left her nursing uniform on when she hurried over to Penny's trailer. She never wore it outside work because white and Maru did not mix, but she figured this was an unusual occasion. 

The trailer was all quiet, and Maru was about to leave, presuming Penny was asleep, when Pam flung the door open. 

"You!" she yelled, stomping over to Maru.

Maru felt like making a break for it, but if she hadn't run away from a frost bat and an attacking slime, she wasn't about to run away from Pam. "I'm here to see Penny. What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Pam shouted. "I want you not to drag my daughter into the damn caves! She could've been killed!" 

"It was an emergency! I didn't want to be there either, but Eve could have died!" Maru yelled back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the curtains across Penny's small window move slightly. 

"I don't care what you do, but you leave Penny out of it! I like Eve well enough and I'm glad she's alive, but she's got no right either!"

"I know you love Penny very much, Pam, but Penny is tougher than you think. Eve needed help and we helped her, and I'd do it again."

Pam slapped Maru across the face so hard that Maru staggered and ended up sitting on the grass. Dazed, all that crossed her mind was that her uniform would get grass stains. Her glasses had fallen off somewhere and the whole world was a colourful blur. 

The door to the trailer flew open with a loud crack as it hit the side of the trailer, and Penny raced out, her hair brightly visible even to Maru. 

"No, Mom! Stop it!"

"Let go of me!"

Maru found her glasses on the ground by her leg, and put them on. Penny was standing in front of her, holding Pam's raised arm to stop her striking Maru again. Pam looked furious, struggling to get free of Penny. 

"Don't you hurt Penny!" Maru shouted as she struggled to her feet. 

Pam stopped resisting and slumped. "Is that what you think? That I'd hurt my own daughter?"

Penny took Pam's hands. "Mom, you hurt Maru, and that hurts me. Maru is a good person: please have a little bit of trust in me."

"It's not you, it's everyone else! They'll hurt you –"

"That's up to me, Mom, not you."

Pam looked at Maru, tears in her eyes. "Sorry. I'm sorry. Be good to Penny, okay?" She pulled free of Penny's arms and shuffled back into the trailer. 

Penny hurried over to Maru. "Oh no! Maru! I'm so sorry!"

"I'm all right," Maru replied, though her face stung like crazy and her left ear was still ringing. "It was just a slap. I've had worse fighting with Sebastian." She didn't mention that this hadn't been the case for quite a few years now.

Penny gently kissed Maru's red cheek, then her jaw and ear. "Is that better?"

"Actually, yeah. I just came over to see you were okay, and to tell you Eve invited us for dinner, but, Penny…what should we do? I thought my dad would come around in time, but after this he's more determined than ever to look after me. Well, what he considers to be looking after me. And your mom, well…she did apologise, but…"

Penny kept gently kissing Maru's face, her arms surrounding her. "She truly is sorry, but next time she's drunk, or maybe next time she's hung over, she'll just do it all again. I didn't expect her to hit you! She's never been violent!"

Maru caught Penny's hands in hers, and kissed Penny back. "Well, that's something. Should we…should we leave Stardew Valley?"

"I…I always wanted to see somewhere else, but I didn't want to be forced out. That's not what I meant at all! I've never been anywhere!"

"I have, but this is my place, you know? I like it here!"

Penny bowed her head. "I'm going to go check on Mom. I'll see you at Eve's place this evening."

"See you then." Maru let go of Penny's hands, and waited a few minutes, but there didn't seem to be any sounds of violence or distress coming from the trailer, so she left and walked home for a much-needed nap. 

By the time Maru woke up in the early evening, the ringing in her ear was completely gone and her face only felt a little tender. She checked in the mirror, but her cheek was only slightly redder than usual, and she was pretty sure it wasn't noticeable to anyone who wasn't looking for it. Her dad had taken her grass-stained white uniform to clean with some special natural detergent he'd created from snow yams, so all she had to do this evening was go down to Eve's farm for dinner. 

As she ventured out of her room, Sebastian was leaving his, to smoke by the lake. 

"Hey. Glad you didn't get eaten by a bat. I'd hope for a skeleton or a shadow shaman to eat me at the very least."

"Thanks so much," Maru made a face. "The bat was bad enough!" 

"Did you talk to the Dwarf at all? I've seen them a few times near the mine entrance. They look cool."

"I think they only speak Dwarvish." Maru told him. At least, the Dwarf hadn't seemed to understand her at all.

"Huh. I don't know if Dew-o-lingo has Dwarvish. I'll check it out."

"Eve speaks it, you should ask her."

"Maybe I will. Gotta go, nicotine cravings rising." He gave her a gentle punch on the arm, which was pretty close to a hug from Sebastian. 

Maru took the mountain path down to the farm, past the entrance to the hot springs. She came out right next to two silos and a huge chicken coop. Wow, her mom had been busy building here! Not far away was a barn, and then Eve's fields spread out across the land until they reached the tree line. A couple of scarecrows made ominous silhouettes in the semi-darkness, but fireflies floating through the air illuminated their real features. Eve's house had a welcoming lantern out on the front porch, and Maru carefully skirted the fields of what looked like blueberries and corn, with almost-ready melons just beyond. 

She knocked on the door and Eve threw it open. 

"Maru! Welcome! Penny got here a few minutes ago!" 

Eve looked vastly better than she had this morning. She must be right: she was very tough, and a day just feeding the animals and cooking had done her the world of good. Maru would have had a day or two in bed, herself, but that's probably why Eve was a thriving farmer and Maru was an amateur roboticist. 

"Hey, Penny!" She was sitting at Eve's table – another creation of Robin's, with a pretty inlaid sun pattern – and looking much more cheerful than she had last time Maru saw her. Eve had put bruschetta out on the table and Penny was happily eating it, but she put it down to jump up and kiss Maru, tasting of fresh tomatoes. 

"Come and have some of this bruschetta! Eve grew the tomatoes and made the bread! I should take cooking lessons from you two."

"Ah, I'm no great cook," Eve told them, though delicious smells were coming from the oven. "I just follow the recipes and everything works out right. But first, I want to toast you two for saving my life. I can't thank you enough."

Maru saw Penny's gaze slide to the fridge where Eve was getting out a bottle, but Eve knew Penny better than Maru thought, because the bottle wasn't wine or beer, but beet juice. 

"I know it sounds weird, but it's delicious when it's made right," Eve told them, and poured three glasses. "To Maru and Penny, the bravest girls in the Valley!"

"To Eve!" they both replied, and clinked glasses. Eve was right: the juice was tasty with a subtle sweetness, missing that earthy taste that beets had. 

"Wow! That's great!" Penny told her, still obviously relieved that no alcohol had been served. 

The timer on the oven beeped and Eve hurried over to take out dinner. It was a big casserole dish of eggplant parmesan, with plenty of tomato, and it smelled even more amazing out of the oven. Eve quickly served it up before it cooled, and for a while everything was quiet while they all ate their fill, using the last of the bread to wipe the bowls clean of the delicious sauce. 

"I have to be honest: I didn't just invite you over here to say thank you," Eve said. "There's something I want to ask you."

"Okay," Maru replied, cautiously. Penny held her glass nervously and reached for Maru's hand under the table. 

Eve took a deep breath. "I want to offer you this house."

"Your house?" Penny gasped. "But didn't your grandfather build it?"

"Well, he did, but Robin's practically rebuilt it since. I'm not attached to the house itself, and I'll just ask Robin to build me a new one once I've saved up some more. Until then, well, Maru, your room will be free, right?"

"You want to move in with my parents?"

"Sure! I'll be a good housemate – you see I can cook – and most of the day I'm out and about anyway. Plus, it's much closer to the mines when I get the courage to go back in."

"I could help feed the animals," Penny piped up. "I used to help Marnie sometimes before Shane came."

Maru nodded. "And I can let you know if any crops need attention – all that time working with Dad means I know a lot about botany. But…what made you think of this? You don't have to pay us back for rescuing you."

Eve frowned. "It's not that. A few days ago, we met up and you said to me you were sad about not being able to have Penny at your house because you wanted her to feel welcome somewhere."

Penny squeezed Maru's hand. "I always feel welcome with you."

"Yeah, but it's not the same as feeling safe in your own place."

"So when I woke up in the caves, you and the Dwarf were right there with me, and I knew that everything would be all right. When I heard Harvey and Penny, too. The whole of Stardew Valley is that welcoming place for me: it doesn't have to be a single house. So the least I can do is let you live here as long as you need it."

Maru blinked a few times, then found herself crying and fogging up her glasses. Penny reached over and took them off to place them safely on the table, then wrapped her arm around Maru's shoulders.

"I never thought about a house swap!" Penny said, and her voice was thick with tears, too, despite her flippant tone. "You probably don't want my room, though."

"I couldn't fit all my tools in there, for one thing!" Eve laughed, and put her hand over Penny's. "I want you to feel as safe as I did. Everyone here is great, but as someone coming from the outside, I see that you can all get stuck in a rut sometimes – everyone ends up living up or living down to other people's expectations."

"That feels familiar," Maru agreed, wiping her eyes and nose on the serviette. 

Eve jumped up from the table and held her glass high. "To change!" 

"To change!" Penny and Maru chorused, and, still holding hands, clinked their glasses to Eve's. 

**Epilogue**

It was two days before the Feast of the Winter Star, a crisp, dry day with snow piled up outside, and Maru pulled on her down jacket and walked into town to meet up with Penny. Jas and Vincent had classes today, and Penny would be walking them back from the library in the fast-closing dusk. No matter how safe the town was, Penny insisted on being responsible; frankly, Maru thought it was a great idea, because otherwise Vincent might wander off and try to swim to the Fern Islands or something. 

She caught up with Penny as she walked past the bench where they used to meet up. "Hey, Penny!"

"Oh, hi, Maru!" She kissed Maru on the cheek, at which Vincent helpfully made vomiting noises, then took her gloved hand in hers. "Come on, Vincent, do you make that noise when your parents kiss?" 

"Yes! Even more!" 

"Well, I guess I can't complain too much, then. In you go!" They had reached Vincent's house, and he raced on inside, pulling off his scarf and hat as he went. 

"It's nice," Jas told them. "You should get married, then I can be the flower girl."

"And you'll get a day off school!" Penny added.

"Oh! I didn't even think of that!" Jas's eyes were suspiciously wide and innocent. "See you tomorrow!" She ran up the path past the cow pen into her aunt's farmhouse with a wave. 

"So how was your day with those monsters?" Maru asked, kissing Penny on the lips, their visible breaths mingling in the cold air. 

"Oh, they were fine. And I finished the report that's due tomorrow while we had quiet reading time." Penny had enrolled in college online along with Maru, only she was studying teaching rather than electrical engineering. She said it was because Jas and Vincent deserved someone who knew what they were doing, but Maru could see how happy she was just learning things for herself. 

"Awesome! Now you can actually take an evening off to finish that Gem Sea murder mystery! I've been trying so hard not to spoiler you!" They turned north on the path at the edge of the forest that led to the farm. Eve still hadn't managed to build another house, but she and Demetrius were happily working together to create some kind of super fruit tree fertiliser in the lab, so it didn't look like she was planning to move out of Maru's old room any time soon. He and Robin had been to visit a few times, and often dropped in at the clinic to see Maru: once they realised Maru actually was moving in with Penny, they seemed to have accepted it. Eve had been right that change was difficult here in Stardew Valley, but when it did happen, the new order of things soon settled in.

They picked their way through the snow, past the bare winter trees, towards the house which glowed like a beacon beyond the sleeping winter fields. They were walking slowly, careful not to trip on Eve's sprinklers in the twilight, when Penny suddenly stopped.

"Maru, my mom's here."

Maru peered up at the porch. There was definitely someone there, though even with glasses she couldn't see as well as Penny. "Come on, we can't just stand here."

Penny tucked her arm through Maru's with renewed determination and they strode the rest of the way up to the porch. Pam was waiting there, her hands in behind her back.

"Hello, Mom." Penny had put herself slightly in front of Maru, to protect her, but Maru wriggled forward so they were side by side again. This was a partnership. 

"Hi, Penny. Hi, Maru. I guess you heard I got my old job back, driving the bus?"

"Yeah, Eve said." Penny didn't move any closer. 

"Well, uh, it's been two seasons since you girls got together, and I just, uh." Pam held out a gift-wrapped box. "Happy anniversary."

The red ribbon was a bit squashed, but Pam had obviously taken great care in wrapping it. Penny tentatively took the box, and opened it to find two cactus fruit. "Mom! I haven't had these in years! Did you get them from the Sandy Desert?"

"Yep! Now that the bus is fixed I took Eve over there, and I picked a couple of these for you. Anyway, I hope you like them, and, uh, Maru, I put my recipe for cauliflower cheese in there, too. Penny used to love that when she was little. Don't let her cook it, though, she always fusses too much and ends up burning it."

"Thank you," Maru replied, still cautious.

"See ya." Pam shuffled off down the steps and back towards the town. 

Maru and Penny hurried inside where the fire was lit and Eve's ginger cat, which had refused to move house, was curled up right in front of it. 

"Wow, that was unexpected," was all Maru could find to say.

Penny, though, was grinning widely. "Did you smell her?"

"No?"

"Exactly! She's quit drinking! Or cut back a lot, anyway. I mean, it may or may not last, but I think she's genuinely trying. And she brought us a present! Me moving out of home was good for both of us."

"It was certainly good for me," Maru told her, kissing Penny and warming her up.

Penny laughed. "Of all the changes Eve brought to Stardew Valley, this is definitely my favourite."

The farmhouse shone brightly in the deep winter night, and overhead a shooting star dashed through the sky. Stardew Valley slept, safe and warm, as winter again cycled into spring.


End file.
